Avian
by BlazingTrail42
Summary: Three men enter. How many will leave? K for later space and possible hand-to-hand combat.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: After a long period of inactivity, I'm back! My old terraria fanfiction is gone, and in its place is an FTL… well, I don't know what to call this. But I hope you like! This is mostly just exposition.**

Chapter 1: The Briefing

The digital map in the middle of the room flickered, whole star systems becoming redder and redder as they were swallowed up by the encroaching Rebel fleet. As the three crew members watched on in horror, the paths between stars suddenly dimmed, before recovering.

"Unless we stop them, the FTL links between all the stars in our systems could fail!" Lukas, the scientist on board, adjusted his glasses and checked the figures on his clipboard. "The Rebel weapons work on the same frequency as the dark matter turbines that support the whole FTL system. If you tap on a wine glass hard enough it shatters, and if enough weapons are fired we're isolated. We have a deadline of approximately 10 days to take down their Flagship! Why aren't we going?"

"Because it's so pretty." Alex, his aviator goggles perched on his head, sighed and shook his head. "Just look. If we don't succeed, all of this could be gone. We should appreciate it while it lasts."

Max punched his shoulder. "Earth to Alex! That's why we need to go- it's our job to prevent it from falling! Do you remember the briefing?"

"No, quite honestly. It was all white noise." replied Alex.

The other two nodded. "All I heard was 'shoot things'" he continued. "But surely that would make us as bad as the rebels?"

"Morality? Seriously, dude?"

"No! I mean, the energy. Won't it deteriorate the… what was it… FTL system as well?"

Lukas coughed and adjusted his glasses "Actually… our laser weapons operate on a different frequency. That's how we can shoot each other's shields. If we operated on the same frequency, it would be like shooting a wet paper plate.

"Awesome! So we're gonna use lasers? Or missiles? Drones? How will we kill the rebels?"

"We can't rely on missiles too much. They're powerful- able to punch through the electromagnetic sheaths that repel the lasers- but they're notoriously unreliable and some drones can destroy them. When this happens during an asteroid storm, it can deflect asteroids into you!

"Drones are also mostly impractical, as our ship can only handle two drones. Also, we have a finite amount of drone parts. Actually, that finite amount is none. At the moment, we'll have to use our Artemis to take down their shields, and then let all hell break loose with our frickin' lasers."

Having delivered this monologue, Lukas swivelled smartly on his heel and started to walk towards to open door of the spaceship. Having been christened the Kestrel, the team had decided that they didn't like it, and so Lukas had spent three hours trawling every single document about their ship and changed the name to something not quite completely different.

"You coming?" he shouted over his shoulder. Alex and Max looked at each other, shrugged, and turned to face the mighty ship.

"You know what?" said Alex. "If we get through to the Flagship with this, I'd be happy if we can just get one damage on that behemoth before we're smeared across space and time."

"Are you depressed or something?" replied Max. "It's all or nothing."

And it was these words, "All or nothing", that were rattling around in Alex's head when he took his place at the cockpit. Having already completed the pre-flight checks, his eyes were fixed on the tiny holographic map beside his left hand as he automatically adjusted the microphone on his headset. "So, uh… you all ready to go?"

"Shields functioning at 100% capacity, cap'n!" shouted Lukas, causing Alex to wince. "There's no need to shout. Your headset has a microphone built in."

"Oh!" Lukas said, embarrassed. Being the scientist, he'd be expected to know these things. Most humiliating.

"Max? Engines?" Alex said

"Comin' in just fine. Oxygen levels?"

"100%. I'm telling the boys back home that we're good to go."

And with a sigh, the airlock opened, throwing the Avian out into the bleak depths of space.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I was planning on playing a game of FTL alongside this fanfiction, but in the first event Max died! So I had to scrap that. Also, in case you couldn't tell from the first chapter, I'm deviating from the original game assets for the sake of storytelling, so you can expect some original events a bit later on. Finally, honest reviews will be greatly appreciated. Who knows, I may name a character after you!**

Chapter 2: Close Encounters of the First Kind

The Avian's first hour in space was a rocky one.

"There's another ship on the radar!" said Lukas. "I'll update our map."

Alex looked at the beacon map, and a tiny infographic of a freight ship being guarded closely by several smaller combat ships flashed into view. "It looks like Rebel supplies. Shall we try and get them?"

Max suddenly sat up. "Did you see that?"

"What?"

"Yes!" shouted Lukas. "It looks like… another Fed ship is trying to bring it down!"

"Oh, what the heck." Alex turned the ship and sped towards the fracas. Upon closer inspection the ship that they were aiding was a much more well-equipped ship than theirs, but it was being beaten back by the three combat ships at once. The Avian's radio gave an insistent squawk, and Lukas hurried to adjust it to the correct channel.

"Thank Res! Someone else from the Fed. Fancy helping me?" came a female voice over the intercom.

"Sure. We can only take one, though." Lukas replied.

"That'll do. Better than nothing, eh? Besides, our ship is equipped with a self-destruct, so we can always do that as a last resort."

"We'll take the red one. Can you manage the other two?"

"Yep." The radio transmission ended abruptly as they swooped back into the fight.

"Shields to 100%!" barked Alex.

Lukas flicked a few switches and pulled a lever to its foremost position. "Done!"

"Firing Artemis!" Max hit a button, and the missile launcher spat fire and smoke.

The red ship rocked under the impact of the missile. "Shields down! Their shields are down! Where shall I aim the laser?"

Alex never got a chance to answer, as the corridor behind him suddenly caught fire. "They have a bomb! They have a fire bomb!" He ran over to the door and slammed it shut.

He watched the other ship through the cockpit as three lasers thumped into its weapon system. The lights on the bomb launcher turned off and the entire system was retracted back into the ship. "We almost have 'em! Wait for the lasers to recharge, then hit the coc-"

Suddenly the cockpit cracked, and red lights all over the walls started to flash and blare warnings. Alex was trapped between the fire and the cold vacuum of space.

"Guys! I'm trapped!" shouted Alex. "The corridor out of here is on fire! What do I do?"

There was a thumping on the door. Alex sprinted over and pushed to open button. A woman fell through, gasping for air. "Our ship…"

Suddenly there was a great explosion that rocked both the Avian and the red ship. Alex grabbed the woman by her arms and dragged her out of the rapidly decompressing cockpit, through the fire. Luckily it had all but been put out by the lack of oxygen, but this meant that Alex and the mystery woman had only just gotten past the corridor of fire before falling down and blacking out. Lukas heard them fall and dragged them into the Medbay, where they sat for the rest of the fight.

Meanwhile, Lukas opened the door to the corridor and let the oxygen fill the room. Once it had settled, he marched through it, into the cockpit. He immediately felt a pulling, and noticed the crack in the glass. He ran into the storeroom, fetched a roll of duct tape and a sheet of corrugated iron, and patched the hole. As he looked up, he saw Max firing their laser again, and watched on as the ship broke apart. He flew the ship closer in to the debris, and scrapped their remains. As he was scrapping he noticed an unusual piece of technology, and manoeuvred the ship closer to investigate.

"Sweet!" It was an augmentation, a Shield Charge Booster. As he fitted it, his headset suddenly buzzed. "Hello?"

"Lukas!" Alex said. "While you're there, can you fetch an extra headset? We have a new member of our crew!"

10 minutes later, the whole crew of the Avian was assembled in the dormitory playing cards as they waited for the FTL beacon paths to stabilise. Zoe, the newest member of their crew, was recounting her tale.

"We had just finished off the two ships and were docking with the freighter when suddenly there was a huge explosion! Someone had trapped the docking port, and we lost one of our crew. Our oxygen system was damaged, and the doors were on lockdown due to hacking. We'd just pulled out of there when they remote-activated our self-destruct. I'll never know why they put them in ships these days. I had just enough time to teleport myself out of there when our ship exploded. My crew…" She sniffed, and Lukas put an arm around her.

"We're your crew now. Dwelling on the past will do you no good. You need to look to the future, and think of what you'll do to the Rebels for taking the lives of your crewmates." She looked up, and smiled.

"What use am I to you? All I can do is plot routes. I was the cartographer for my crew. How can I assist you in any way?" She sighed, and put her head in her hands.

The three men looked at each other, and smiled. Finally, Max spoke up. "We need someone to keep an eye on the FTL system in the engines. It would also require you to plot some of our routes in advance. Think you can do that?"

Zoe looked up. "Seriously?"

She looked so happy it was impossible not to laugh. "Welcome aboard."

 **A/N: First fight! Any tips, hints or** ** _constructive_** **criticism would be accepted with open arms.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: It's been a looong time since I updated. Sorry. Thanks for the one review I got; you know who you are, and you're awesome.**

Zoe brought her hand down dramatically on the engine panel. "How does this work? It's completely different to ours."

"Why?" asked Lukas, who had sidled up behind her. "You were in a Fed ship like us."

She started, and turned around. "Um… er… hmm, that's strange. What does that light mean?"

"You mean that one?" Lukas pointed at a flashing red Led, filing away the fact that she'd abruptly changed the topic for future investigation. "The one that says…"

"Fuel levels, yes."

They turned to look at each other.

And all the lights went out.

Lukas felt a hand grip his arm. "Whoa, lady, mind letting some blood reach my hand?"

"Sorry. I just… I don't like the dark."

"Mmm-hmm." Lukas knew something was happening regarding Zoe, but he thought it best not to ask. "The whole ship diagnostic and power systems are plugged into the generator. The one that YOU were supervising." He only let the slightest tone of accusation creep into his voice.

"Like I said, the controls are different. Anyway, don't you have a backup generator or something?"

Max's voice drifted out to them from down the hall. "You guys fine?"

"Yeah"

A shaft of glittering light spilled out of the hallway. "Good thing we have torches!" shouted Alex. He chucked an old-fashioned battery torch at the pair, just as Max stumbled in. "Do we know what happened?"

"The fuel ran out."

Max swore. "Do we need to activate our beacon now?"

"It's our only hope. Unless we sit here and hope nothing happens."

"Guys. We don't know how fast the jam of upheaval is spreading across the buttered toast of space. We need to get moving, and fast!"

"On it." Lukas dashed out of the room. They heard his footsteps echoing down the hallway, followed by a sudden absence of footsteps and a loud thump. Muttering, Lukas got back up, and then noticed what he'd tripped over.

"The fuel supply cord…" Someone had pulled it out deliberately, as an act of sabotage. It wasn't possible to disconnect it without rotating two separate pieces of wire in two separate ways. It was foolproof.

 _Sabotage…_

There was a traitor on board the ship.

Lukas had to work backwards. He knew he could trust Zoe, as she was with him when the power went out. But he didn't know how long the light had been flashing for. He'd been in the hallway just before he'd entered the room, and all the cables had been in place.

It was either Alex or Max.

Or…

No.

Nobody had a teleporter that powerful.

They had to be in the same beacon…

Several connections were suddenly made in Lukas's brain.

 _"It's completely different to ours!"_

 _"I was the cartographer for my crew"_

 _…He saw Max firing their laser again…_

"GUYS!"

Everyone spun around. Lukas dashed into the room. His face was panicked. "We need to get moving! Now!"

"Why?"

"JUST DO IT! SOMEWHERE! ANYWHERE!"

"But we don't have any fuel!"

"Check again." Suddenly Lukas was deathly calm.

"What happened?"

"Fuel supply line was cut off. Now HURRY! We don't have much time!"

"Until wha-"

"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT JUST DO IT MEANS?"

The others exchanged glances. Lukas, whom they had always known as the mellow and benign scientist, had turned into a raving maniac. They slowly backed away, turned, and ran. Lukas watched them scatter. He sprinted to the shield room, flicked a hundred tiny switches, and watched as they came online. The other systems booted up sequentially, and he flicked his headset mic down so that he could talk to the others. "Sorry about that."

"What was all that about?" Zoe asked.

"Do you recall that ship you used to plot for? Did it ever occur to you that the freighter that sabotaged your systems had a remote link to your database?"

"Wha- oh." Zoe's face paled in sudden comprehension.

"They had your plans, plans that I'd bet you at least slightly recycled for our route."

"Yep. Sorry."

"Their FTL drive would be far superior to ours. It's not outside of the realms of possibility that they could lie in wait for us at a beacon. One that, oh, I don't know, contained a nebula? Our systems are restricted."

"This would be the perfect time for an attack." Max slammed his palm down on the pilot's bench. "We need to leave!"

"You're the one at the pilot's desk!" shouted Alex.

"I know."

The ship tilted suddenly. "It's too late" Max continued. "They're already here."

 **A/N: I wish for reviews. I'll try and update more frequently now. Submit your own OCs to me, and I'll select the best ones and they'll feature in the story. Thanks, and stay eloquent!**


	4. Chapter 4

Lukas glanced out of the window. He saw three harpoons wedged deep between armour plated. Primitive, yes, but nonetheless effective. "What? The beacon links have been down ever since we got here?"

"Hmm!" Max shot a sideways look at the slowly-rotating 3D beacon map. Sure enough, all of the links were red. "Do they have an experimental FTL link bypass system or something?"

"Nah. There's only one of those, and it's currently in the Rebel Flagship."

"They must just be REALLY fast." Zoe added.

Alex grabbed the comms headset and leaned closely in to the mic. "Hello?"

"You have Zoe". The voice was a lot clearer than it would be over the headset. "Stand up and turn around. Hands behind your head!"

Three Zoltan boarders brandished their blasters as the four unarmed Avianeers faced them. The first smiled. "Ah, Zoe, good to see you! These guys been treating you ok?"

"Yep. Come on, guys. Don't be so hostile! No threat."

The second Zoltan aimed squarely at Lukas' chest. "See… you took our Shield Charge Booster. We NEED that to fight the Flagship."

"Wait… You were sent to fight the Flagship? So were we!" A bead of sweat rolled down Max's forehead. "We can work together!"

"Ah, teamwork. I remember when that was an option. Sadly, your scrap would be much more useful top us than you would."

Lukas desperately attempted to catch someone's- anyone's! - eye. Max glanced over, and Lukas put his hand behind him, gesturing for Max to copy. Puzzled, Max surreptitiously extended his hand behind him, and his eyes widened as he realised what he was holding on to. Lukas turned to look at Alex, who was nodding feverishly as he tried to keep the conversation going. Good, they were distracted.

Max slowly eased the lever back. Lukas heard a hiss as vents all over the ship began to open. Unbeknownst to the Zoltan invaders, the ship's O2 vents were disgorging most of their electrolysed oxygen into space.

"…But how are you going to disable their missiles? You need to send someone in to take out the guy?" Alex was saying. The Zoltans were laughing heartily.

"Do you know about hacking technology?" said one. "We can use it to disable them with no need for potential traitors on our ship. We can also upgrade it to make it physically damage anyone and anything inside it… hang on. Do you hear that?"

All three Zoltans turned to look at the vent, that had just so happened to hiss at that exact moment. Zoe took the opportunity and slammed her fist into the nearest Zoltan's head. It accomplished about the same amount as punching a jelly – his body wobbled and he fell over. Zoe grabbed his blaster and pistol-whipped the second Zoltan, before sprinting out of the room, frantically motioning for the others to follow. The third Zoltan, who was still staring at the vent, spun around and caught sight of the three prisoners attempting to escape, pulled out his blaster, and shot wildly in their direction before finally understanding what having a hole in his chest felt like.

Thirty seconds later, three crew members burst through the doors of the Medbay, the fourth being dragged behind, his hands around his throat. The moment the room was sealed Max punched the button that would oxygenate the room. The he punched it again. The red lights continued to swirl. "Those sneaky beggars! They sabotaged out oxygen system!"

"So… we're stuck here?" asked Zoe.

"I guess so" Alex removed his hands from his airway. In the sudden quiet all four of them began to truly understand where the line was drawn between life and death. Although their cells were not receiving any oxygen, the Medbay was repairing the damage done, so they were somehow alive, and yet at the same time dead.

"One of us will need to sacrifice ourselves to fix the generator." said Lukas. "Who here's feeling lucky?"

"I'll go" said Zoe, and before anything else could be said she was gone.

Max immediately leapt up and tried to follow her, but the doors were locked shut. "Why would she do this?"

"I guess she felt responsible for this mess" replied Alex.

Suddenly the red lights stopped flashing. Moments later a female form crashed through the doors, not even out of breath. "All they had time to do was pull out the dispersal cord. Turns out all the oxygen was being diverted into the room! It might've exploded if I hasn't opened the doors."

Everyone laughed, suddenly relieved at how easy the solution to their dilemma had been. "Well we'd better get back to our stations" said Max, and the crew dispersed into their rooms to prepare for the jump.


End file.
